Bottle-handling apparatus.



No. 851,425. PATENTBD APR. 23, 1907. T. D. KYLE & E. HfiwA-UGH. BOTTLE HANDLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19-, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED APR. 23, 1907. T. D. KYLE & B. H. WAUGH. BOTTLE HANDLING APPARATUS.

'. V I Q APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19, 1905.

G G-0 0 5 5 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 5 5 0 0 0 0 I 0 UNITED STATES PATENT @EETCE.

THOMAS D. KYLE, or CHICAGO, AND EDWARD H. WAUGH, or EVANSTON,

ILLINOIS; SAID WAUGH ASSIGNOR TO SAID KYLE.

BOTTLE-HANDLlNG APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 23,1907.

Application filed June 19,1905. $Bria1N0- 265,967.

tended to co-operate in conjunction with bottle-washing machines in the way of supplying dirty or soiled bottles to the machine and removing the washed and cleansed bottles therefrom in an easy and expeditious manner.

The apparatus of our invention has been designed more especially for use in connection with bottle-washing machines of the general type and construction set forth in pending a plications of David M. Kyle on ottle-was 'ng machines, Serial N 0. 208,729, filed May 19, 1904, and Serial No. 230,584, filed October 29, 1904, said machines comprising essentially a rotary shaft containing a series of radially disposed bottle-holders or clamps rotating in a tank and provided with means for cleansin the interior of the bottles by washing fluid admitted thrbugh the shaft and the bottle-holding devices. The bottle-holders of such machines are arranged inlcomparatively wide radial groups or rows; and it is desirable to supply a complete row of bottles to themachine by a single operation, as well as to withdraw a complete row of cleansed bottles therefrom by a single operation, in order to expedite the chargin and unloading of the bottle-washing ma- This latter is the primary purpose of the present invention, which consists essentially in a suitably mounted carrier ada ted to reciprocate toward and from the perip cry of the bottle-washing machine and rovided with. one or more angularly mova le arms whereby soiled bottles may be taken from an overhead guide or chute and. introduced to the machine, and the cleansed bottles may be withdrawn from the machine and discharged onto an underlying conveyor.

Our invention, in an approved mechanical form, is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partly in vertical section, of our present apparatus, shown in connection with a rotary bottlewashing machine which appears in end elevation; and Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 5 may designate the bowl or tankof a rotary bottlewashing machine, on and above which is mounted a hollowshaft 6 containing a series of radially disposed bottle-holders or clamps indicated at 7, said shaft and bottle-holders being designed to rotate within the tank, carrying the bottles through the water therein and thus cleansing the exterior thereof, while water or suds admitted through the hollow central shaft 6 and holders 7 cleanses the interior of the bottles. The casing or tank/5 has an 0 ening S on one side, which may r may not e closed by a suitable door, as desired. The foregoing descriptionwill suilice to explain the general nature of the bottle-washing machine with which our present invention is primarily designed to co-operate, although it is to be understood that the washing machine in itself forms no part of our present invention, being merely that on which the latter is designed to operate.

011 the posts 9 opposite the open side of the washing machine tank is supported a pair of track rails 10 which, as shown in Fig. 2, may conveniently consist of a pair of angle iron bars preferably upwardly turned at their outer ends as shown at 1 0 to form stops limiting the rearward travel of the bottle bearer or carriage.

11 designates the frame or truck of the carriage, which is mounted on suitable flanged wheels 12 that travel on the rails 10. The opposite side frame members of the carriage are rigidly connected and spaced by a rod 13 which serves the further function of a pivot rod for a pair of rigidly connected oscillatory bottle-carriers 14 and 15 arranged at an an gle to each other, the former havim the function of introducing the soiled bottTes to the machine, and the latter having the function of-withdrawing the cleansed bottles from the machine. The member 14 comprises essentially a broad flat plate having disposed 1 across the upper surface thereof near its 1' outer end a bar 16 provided with a series of 1 bottle seats; while the member 15 is substantially the same, being provided on its upper surface at its free end with a series ofparallel beds 17 in which the bottles are designed to lie side by side. Extending rearwardly of the pivoted shaft 13 are arms 18 fast with the members 14 and 15, which arms carry a series of counter-weights 19 designed to over balance the members 14 and 15 when unloaded, and to permit the gentle descent of the latter when loaded with bottles.

20 designates an overhead table or plat: form on which the soiled or dirty bottles 21 may be received; and 22 designates an inclined platform the upper surface whereof is constituted by a series of parallel bottle chutes 23, the lower ends whereof are provided with openings 24 through which the bottles may drop. The lower marg n of the platform 22 is provided with a foot board 25 extending both above and below the plane of the platform.

26 designates a rock shaft mounted in bearmgs 27 across the face of the platform 22 just above the openings 24. On this shaft is mounted a channel-shaped escapement-bar 28 operated by an arm 29 fast on one end of the shaft 26.

Beneath and transversely of the inner ends of the track rails 10 is mounted a suitable endless conveyor, indicated at 30.

In the operation of the machine, the soiled bottles are supplied to the table 20 upon which the attendant places them in endwise consecutive order in the chutes of the inclined platform 21, as shown in Fig. 1. The counter-weights 19-operate to maintain the bottle-translerring members 14 and 15 in the elevated position shown by full lines. The

operator, rocking the arm 29, permits the' lowermost row of bottles in the chute to drop to and through the openings 24, whereupon said bottles are received upon the elevated end of the plate 14. The counter-weights 1.) may be so adjusted that the bottles thus received will overbalance them, causing the plate 14 to descend to a horizontal position, or, said plate may be moved down by hand, whereupon, in either case, the carriage is moved inwardly toward the machine, carrying the row of bottles into a position to be received by the holders or clamps of the machine, to which they are quickly connected. The carriage is then retracted, the counterweights carrying the plate 14 again into the elevated position, the escapement-bar 28 is again rocked, permitting the next row of hottles to descend and pass through the same operation, the shaft ofthe wa hing machine having been turned to a position to bring the next radial row of members into favorable position to receive the bottles, etc. In this manner the machine is loaded wit-lithe soiledbottles. After the bottles have been washed, the apparatus may be employed to remove the cleansed bottles by simply advancing the carriage to the dotted line position shown, releasing the row of bottles immediately above .the beds 17, retracting the carriage, and then tilting the carrier 15 to the downwardly inclined position to permit the bottles to roll ofi onto the discharge. conveyor 30, whereupon the counter-weights at once r estore the carrier 15'to the horizontal position, and the above described operation may be repeated with the remaining rows of bottles.

From the foregoing it will be seen that our invention provides a simple and easily manipulated apparatus for handling bottles in quantities in the operations of introducing them to and withdrawing them from a bottle-washing machine, such apparatus evidently saving much time and labor as com- ,pared with the purely manual operation of supplying and removing the bottles singly to the clamps or holders.

We claim:

1. In a machine for the purpose described, the combination with a carriage, of a bottle carrier mounted thereon adapted to receive soiled bottles and deliver them to the bottle holders of a bottle-washing machine, and another bottle carrier mounted on said carriage adapted to receive cleansed bottles from said bottle holders and deliver them at a suitable point of discharge, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for the purpose described, the combination with a delivery chute, of a carriage, and a bottle carrier mounted on said carriage movable relatively thereto and adapted to receive soiled bottles from said chute and deliver them to the bottle holders of a bottle-washing machine, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for the purpose described, the combination with a discharge conveyor,

of a carriage, and a bottle carrier mounted thereon movable relatively thereto and adapted to receive cleansed bottles from a bottle-washing machine and deliver them to said conveyor, substantially as described.

4. In a machine for the purpose described, the combination with a delivery chute, of a carriage, and a counter-weighted bottle carrier pivotally mounted on said carriage adapted to receive soiled bottles from said chute and deliver them to the bottle holders of a bottle-washing machine, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for the purpose described, the combination with a discharge conveyor, of a carriage, and a counter'weighted bottle carrier pivotally mounted on said carriage adapted to receive cleansed bottles from a bottle-washing machine and deliver them to said conveyor, substantially described.

6. In a machine for the purpose described, the combination with a delivery chute and a discharge conveyor, of a carriage, and a pair of counter-weighted bottle carriers pivotally mounted on said carriage and disposed at an angle to each other, one of said carriers bein adapted to transfer soiled bottles from said chute to a bottle-washing machine, and the other to transfer the cleansed bottles from said washing' machine to said conveyor, substantially as described.

7. In a machine for the purpose described, the combination with a carriage, and a bottle carrier mounted thereon having seats for a row of bottles, of a chute ada ted to feed bottles in successive rows to sai carrier, and an cscapement device on said chute controllQng lhedelivery of said rows of bottles, substantially as described.

8. In a machine for the purpose described, the combination with a track and a carriage reciprocable thereon, of a counter-weighted bottle carrier pivotally mounted thereon, a chute adapted to feed the bottlesvin successive rows to said carrier, and an esca ement device on said chute controlling the elivery of said rows of bottles, substantially as described.

THOMAS D. KYLE. EDWARD H. WAUGH.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL N. PoNn, LOUIS T. MANN. 

